With the arrival of President Obama, the Copenhagen climate talks approach a dramatic climax.

On Thursday Secretary of State Clinton breathed new life into the talks by joining with other developed countries in helping to raise the funding needed to prevent destruction of the world's forests, to adapt to global warming, and to deploy clean technology.

Today the U.S. delegation here in Copenhagen continued with a sustained and impressive charm offensive as ministers and heads of state began arriving. Tomorrow, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled make it to the Bella Center, followed on Friday by President Obama himself.

Here at the Copenhagen Summit the building is a maze of forest of data, side events, booths and actual negotiations over...forests. Forests are part of solving the climate crisis — through both storing carbon and helping ecosystems and communities adapt in a changing world.

David Moulton Director of Climate Change Policy, The Wilderness Society

Greetings from Copenhagen. As the Wilderness Society’s Director of Climate Change Policy, I’m here at the U.N. climate change negotiations hoping to see wild land issues find their proper place in the talks.

Here's a simple question for our climate negotiators in Copenhagen: As we seek to highlight the need to preserve the carbon in the vast but shrinking forests in other countries, how are we doing here at home?

The climate debate vaulted onto the international stage Dec. 7, when delegations from across the planet gathered in Copenhagen to discuss next steps for an international climate plan.

Important progress can be made if the U.S. demonstrates climate leadership in Copenhagen — and recent events give us reason to for hope. President Barack Obama has confirmed that he will attend these critical discussions, showing the world that the United States has finally gotten serious about addressing climate change.

Climate change may cause Alaska’s growing season to become about 80 percent drier by mid century, causing profound effects on wildlife, vegetation and human communities, according to new research conducted by our climate change analyst Brendan O’Brien, and ecologist Wendy Loya.

By the end of the century — or 2094 according to our estimates — that same growing season may become a whopping 200 percent drier in a state already impacted by climate change.